{"id":3767,"date":"2026-07-05T20:13:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T20:13:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=3767"},"modified":"2026-07-05T20:13:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T20:13:13","slug":"the-cristiano-ronaldo-world-cup-precedent-that-changed-usmnt-star-folarin-baloguns-red-card-fortunes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=3767","title":{"rendered":"The Cristiano Ronaldo World Cup precedent that changed USMNT star Folarin Balogun’s red card fortunes"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Folarin Balogun wasn\u2019t the only player who benefitted from a red-card suspension being reversed in favor of a probationary period.<\/p>

Read more How USMNT players reacted to Folarin Balogun news on bus to practice: \u2018Thought it was AI\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portugal star, avoided missing the first two games of the World Cup following a red card in November that led to a three-match ban \u2014 instead only missing his country\u2019s final qualifying match and returning for their opener.<\/p>\n

That context seemingly paved the way for Sunday, when FIFA cited Article 27 as the reason for why Balogun \u2014 shown a red card during the U.S. men\u2019s national team\u2019s Round of 32 match \u2014 could have his suspension suspended and instead land a one-year probationary period.<\/p>\n

Article 27 states that \u201cthe judicial body may decide to fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure,\u201d and if Balogun were to encounter a similar incident while in the probationary period, \u201cand if he commits something similar during that stretch, \u201cthe suspension shall be revoked by the judicial body and the sanction enforced without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed for the new infringement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ronaldo\u2019s lenient ruling in November following an incident during Portugal\u2019s match against the Republic of Ireland, when his elbow connected with defender Dara O\u2019Shea.<\/p>\n

He received his first red card at the international level, and similar to Balogun, if he committed another infraction while on probation, he would\u2019ve been suspended for the additional two games.<\/p>\n

\n

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Read more Why FIFA is allowing USMNT star Folarin Balogun to play vs. Belgium despite World Cup red card suspension<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Balogun\u2019s return marked a major boost for the USMNT ahead of their Round of 16 match Monday against Belgium, with the striker already collecting three goals in his World Cup debut \u2014 including the first tally against Bosnia-Herzegovina before his foot connected with the area around Tarik Muharemovic\u2019s ankle and Balogun was shown off.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s been lots of different emotions. I\u2019ve been upset, I\u2019ve been happy, it\u2019s been surreal to be honest,\u201d Balogun said last week of the red card. \u201cBut for me it was just important to stay calm. I never want to react out of anger and emotion.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Every match of the FIFA World Cup will air on either FOX or FOX Sports 1. If you don\u2019t have cable, you can take advantage of a DIRECTV free trial to stream it all.<\/p>\n

Prefer to check out the action live and in person? Shop World Cup 2026 tickets on SeatGeek and make sure to use promo code NYPOST10<\/strong> for $10 off purchases over $250 at checkout if you\u2019re a first-time SeatGeek user.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s still lots of people we\u2019re inspiring. Little kids, boys and girls are watching. We have to show them the correct way to handle things even when you think it\u2019s unjust, so I felt I did that. I\u2019m happy with the support, not just I\u2019m receiving but the team. I think we\u2019re all looking forward to seeing what we can do against Belgium.\u201d<\/p>\n

And, fittingly, there\u2019s a chance that Portugal and the USMNT could meet in the quarterfinals, though Portugal must survive Spain on Monday in Dallas in order to advance to Los Angeles.<\/p>

Read more US soccer fans, celebrities react to Folarin Balogun\u2019s red-card ban being lifted<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

USMNT striker Folarin Balogun wasn\u2019t the only player who benefitted from a red-card suspension being reversed in favor of a probationary period.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3766,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[76,75],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer","category-world-cup-2026"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Cristiano Ronaldo World Cup precedent that changed USMNT star Folarin Balogun's red card fortunes - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=3767\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Cristiano Ronaldo World Cup precedent that changed USMNT star Folarin Balogun's red card fortunes - 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